


it's just a spark (but it's enough)

by hollow_city



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Animal Abuse, Canon-Typical Violence, Comic Book Science, Dogs, Gen, Hallucinations, How Do I Tag This, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Reconciliation, Suicide, it isn't jason and it's minor but the tag is necessary, jason gets the help and support he deserves, jason is a nerd okay, no editing im tired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-08 09:46:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11643969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollow_city/pseuds/hollow_city
Summary: "Sheis not athing, she is adog, and her name is Ellie!"in which jason's life starts going even further down hill, and it stays this way until one genetically modified puppy forces its way into his life.





	it's just a spark (but it's enough)

**Author's Note:**

> i love jason and i love dogs. i wanted jason to have a dog. that's pretty much all this is. this beginning part breaks my heart a little bit, by the way.  
> also, the title is from (imo) one of the best songs in existence, last hope by paramore. listen to it while you read this if you so please. (i highly recommend it.)

Jason has spent the last two weeks being particularly angry. There's no reason behind it, he just is. He gets that way sometimes. It means he hits harder, he runs out of bullets quicker, and he goes home feeling worse than he did when he left.

He stays this way until one night, when he comes across a warehouse that shouldn't exist, according to city records and maps. It's fairly inconspicuous if the outside is anything to go by. But of course, that's not good enough for Jason, and he wants to know what's going down inside that warehouse. It can't be anything good if what he's gathered on it is any indication. He's seen people entering and leaving through the back and he's gotten close enough to hear the words injections and _subject_.

That could mean several things, and while he doesn't really want to imagine any of them actually being there, he's dead set on finding out what it actually is.

He plans out his assault perfectly down to the finest details because while his usual tactic is rush and surprise and then use brute force, this kind of thing takes something different. Especially considering anything involving test subjects and injections is not something he can be reckless with. He doesn't cross that line.

But despite the plan that took him a week to orchestrate, it all goes to shit when the back door (which is well hidden in a dark alleyway which leads to several abandoned buildings) flies open and several bloodied people in lab coats come streaming out. They are all whimpering and several have broken limbs hanging uselessly, and this is not to mention the array of _bite marks_ that each scientist is sporting on different parts of their bodies. One woman collapses almost immediately, bleeding out on the pavement.

And while Jason should probably get them some help, he bites the bullets and knows that woman is too far gone, and the others will get the help they need if they want it that bad. He springs into action, skirting around the injured scientists, and enters the warehouse.

The second he passes through the doorway, his senses are assaulted. The overwhelming bright lights are flashing like someone smashed into the fuse box, everything smells of blood and cleaning products, and the air is heavy and hot. That's bad enough, but it doesn't even scratch the surface when he works his way into the first room with anything actually in it.

Both guns are drawn, but he doesn't quite know what he should be aiming at. The room has a high ceiling and was clearly once several rooms because it spans from where he's standing to the other outer wall, and it's all filled with equipment of all kinds. Along the wall to his left are what seem to cages of some kind, but they're made of solid sheet metal instead of metal bars. They each have a door on the front, and in that door is a tiny sliding window.

He doesn't have the time to worry about what's inside, but he's willing to take a wild guess and say that's where the _subjects_ are being held.

"Shut it down! Erase everything!" a tall woman with red hair shrieks, frantically typing on the keyboard in front of the biggest computer in the room. She has some bite marks of her own, but she seems much better off than the others.

Jason's taking a wild guess and saying she's in charge here.

All around the room, men and women with guns are firing off round after round at something that Jason can't see, but when he hears the sound of bullets tearing through flesh and loud grunts and whimpers, he thinks maybe he's not _supposed_ to see whatever it is they're shooting at.

Well, that just makes this even harder. How is he supposed to know what to shoot at when he can't even see it?

He figures it out quickly when the invisible _thing_ takes out nearly every one of the guards, and corners the redheaded woman. She has her hands raised and in one she has a remote with one button. When the thing gets close enough, she presses that button with enough conviction to break it, and Jason's ears can barely pick up the sound that emits from the speakers placed around the edges of the ceiling.

Apparently, the thing can hear it quite well, because it begins to howl loud enough to make Jason wince behind the hood. He presses back behind the wall and peers around the doorway, unsure if he wants to get involved or not. He doesn't know enough to work efficiently, and the woman seems to have it covered. While all of the guards and every scientist who didn't escape is dead, she seems to be remarkably calm.

That is until the thing gradually grows opaque and Jason can see what it is. The only word he can find to describe it would be a _beast._ At first glance, it looks like a massive dog, but instead of the dull nails dogs usually have, it has talons that are glistening with blood. Its teeth are so sharp and long that they peek out and hang over its lower jaw. It's ugly and magnificent at the same time, and seeing it lying dead on the floor seems to bring the woman out of the utterly indifferent trance she was in before.

"Oh, god," she chokes, dropping the remote and bringing her hands up to her head. She grips her hair as she looks around frantically, becoming more and more panicked by the second. When she's finally taken in the entire room and all of the destruction, her face crumples into a mix of disappointment, fear, and anger. "All of that fucking work and all I get is-"

She doesn't finish her sentence because she reaches beneath her lab coat and pulls a gun from the waistband of her jeans, and brings it up to rest it below her chin.

Jason doesn't even have the chance to think of throwing something her way, shooting her hand, or just shouting at her because she pulls the trigger before he can. His shoulders sag slightly, but with one final once-over of the room, he finally enters fully.

Everyone he passes is dead and either lightly mauled or completely demolished. He figures it must have been that beast at the other end of the room. He makes quick work of checking for pulses because if any of these people were alive to need medical help, they would need it very fast. But, like he initially thought, none of them are alive.

He tries to see if he could get the computer to work, only to find it completely wiped. Not to mention the insides of the others have literally been _melted._ Unless Barbara has some kind of secret weapon they aren't aware of, even she wouldn't have been able to get something out of it.

He finally reaches the cages, and he counts only three of them. Each one has a label on the door, the first one labeled 2-L-C, the second labeled 2-L-D, and the last labeled 2-L-E. He stops at the first one and peers inside, only to find it empty. There are several large bones in the corners along with many blood stains. A hook on the wall is connected to a chain, which is connected to a metal collar that doesn't hold anything. If he had to guess, the beast at the front of the room was once contained in here.

He moves on to the next one, and he has to squeeze his eyes shut for a moment. Inside is the dead body of an animal much like the beast, but this one looks much more like an actual dog. It's still chained to the wall, and Jason has to move on before he shoots something.

In the last cage, he thinks there's another dead dog-like creature and his insides twist, but he freezes when he sees it take a deep breath. This one is definitely a dog, even if it is slightly odd looking. Its fur is matted and tangled, but beneath the blood and filth, it looks almost tan and brown. Its paws are big, and instead of nails are claws, but the paws aren't as big and the claws not as sharp as the beast's. It's lying on its side on the bloody metal, the collar around its neck and the chain wrapped around its front leg by mistake.

Jason is frozen, staring at it for a moment until it shifts its head to look at him. He finds himself staring into pale blue eyes that look so _sad_. It takes a deep breath and lets it back out with a huff that ends with a quiet whine.

Jason doesn't waste another second in shooting the lock on the door and tearing the door wide open. The dog barely flinches at the sound of the gunshot and that only makes his heart hurt more.

His ability to care for humans may be stunted, but his ability to care for animals is just as strong as it was before.

When he gets the door open, the dog immediately panics and scrambles to press itself against the far wall. Its paws scramble and slip across the bloody metal uselessly, and it lets out a whimper of fear when it gets nowhere.

Jason immediately holsters both of his guns and reaches up to remove his helmet, dropping it outside the cage. He gets on his knees and reaches out to the dog, his face twisted in a scowl. That only seems to make the dog more terrified, and he pulls his hand back, his anger warping into sadness.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise," he says quietly, trying to make his voice as gentle as possible. He's not sure if he really succeeds because he never tries to be gentle, but the dog falls for it.

It still eyes his hand suspiciously but stretches its neck enough to sniff it carefully. After its careful inspection of Jason's hand, it shoves its nose into his palm. His eyes widen, but he doesn't waste any time gently petting the dog's nose. It huffs again, but this time, its eyes are closed, and its very skin is quivering.

His heart cracks a little bit more. And his anger burns stronger.

How could someone do this to a poor animal? He's seen plenty of metahumans that came from science experiments before, but this is just a little different.

He's snapped out of stupor when he realizes where he is once more, and the dog immediately stiffens when Jason's fingers twitch.

Reaching back for his helmet, Jason sighs. "Alright, I'm gonna get you out of here, you're just gonna have to trust me... and not attack me."

He knows the dog probably can't understand him (at least, he hopes), but he talks anyway. After placing the helmet back on his head and locking it in place, he reaches for the dog again. It sniffs his fingers suspiciously as if making sure it's still him and relaxes.

"Okay, let's go," he grunts as he leans forward on one knee and quickly slips his hands underneath the dog's body. It whimpers immediately and thrashes slightly, but stops when the collar bangs against the floor and jars it. Jason makes a split second decision to shoot the chain, which the dog really doesn't appreciate. He doesn't have the time to waste trying to calm it down again so he holsters the gun and lifts the dog off the ground.

Its skin is tight and there's almost no fat, leaving Jason to feel every bump and divet of every bone in the dog's body. He pushes away the white hot fury in favor of making quick work of the place. He has to multitask because while the dog is a little bigger than usual, he can still carry it, but he has to work with the other hand.

He knows Batman will probably show up soon, maybe with a few birds, because this is their kind of gig, so he has to get out of there quick before they can question him. He leaves a note on the redhead's hand, clearly labeling her the leader, and another note on the beast's head, clearly labeling it the attacker. He doesn't leave his name or anything else, but he's sure Bruce will know it was him. He'll just have to wait for him to ask about it some other time.

Jason adjusts his hold on the dog--he's figured out that it's a girl at this point--so her front legs are over his shoulders and he can hold her easier while he slips from the warehouse and grapples onto an adjacent roof. The dog unsurprisingly panics and her back nails--no, _claws_ \-- scramble against Jason's stomach. He's momentarily grateful for the Kevlar protecting him because those claws are _sharp_ and probably would've torn his skin to ribbons.

Several more panicked yips from the dog are all it takes to get back to his apartment, and by then, Jason is well aware that he's really got his work cut out for him now. He still isn't sure what he was thinking when he snatched the dog from the warehouse, just that it was sad, lonely, in pain, and motherfucking cute. He couldn't leave her behind, and now he's standing in the middle of his living room with a genetically modified dog like an absolute fool.

When the dog sighs and rests her head against his shoulder again, he remembers what he has to do, and quickly takes the helmet off, tossing it on the ratty couch. He carefully places the dog on the ground, and she tries to stand, but stumbles and collapses to the floor. He curses and drops to his knees, running his fingers through her fur to try to find any real wounds. He doesn't find any, so he assumes her lack of strength must stem from the lack of muscle usage or just malnourishment.

But for now, he focuses on the metal collar and partial chain still digging into and hanging from her neck.

"That hurts, doesn't it?" he asks quietly, not expecting an answer, but needing to speak to ease the tension in his own chest. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of this."

He pulls out a knife, and the second the dog sees it, she lets out a strained bark of protest and pushes herself away as much as she can manage. Jason holds his hands up, hiding the knife in his sleeve.

"I won't hurt you, I promise," he repeats his earlier vow, and he knows the dog won't understand, so he tries his hardest to make his voice convey what he means. He's not very good with that usually, so he has to try harder than he thought.

After a few moments of staring at each other, the dog finally slumps back to the floor limply and allows Jason to get closer with the knife. He uses it to carefully pry the collar apart at the seam, and after some quiet grunting and nearly cutting his own fingers, the collar creaks as it falls apart and hits the floor. The dog yelps when it first falls away, but once it no longer touches her skin, she huffs out a deep breath of relief.

The fur beneath where the collar once was is patchy, matted with dried blood, and flattened against her skin.

"Alright, good, that's over with," he mumbles, rising to his feet and wiping imaginary dust from his hands. The dog's eyes follow him, and after a moment, she tries to follow him. She manages to rise into a wobbly sitting position, but that's as far as she can get.

Discarding his jacket, gloves, boots and keeping his pants and shirt on, Jason leans back down to pick her up again. He's decided keeping the Kevlar on might be a good idea considering he's about to try and dump this dog in a bathtub and she might claw him to death if she doesn't like it too much.

"You're not afraid of water, are you?" he asks, moving his head back to stare at the dog as he walks, raising an eyebrow. "I hope not. I like having my skin intact."

When he gets to the bathroom, he places the dog on the mat and turns on the water. It's loud and startles her, but she calms quickly when Jason rests his hand on her head again. Once he's sure she's calm enough, he reaches for some soap and a few towels. He hadn't found any cuts or gashes on her when he'd quickly checked, so he's guessing the blood matting and on the bottom of the metal cage wasn't her own. The blood around her neck is definitely hers, though, so there will definitely be that to clean up.

Once the water is high enough, he reaches over to shut it off.

"Please don't maul me," he whispers as he reaches out to lift the dog into the water. Her large paws touch the water, and when she doesn't seem all that bothered by it, he lowers her all the way in.

It's a tough task, considering she seems to have eased up to him enough that she wants to sniff anything she can stretch her neck to reach. Not to mention he has to hold her underneath the ribs to keep her upright considering her own legs can't quite do it. When he strays close to her neck, though, she growls deep in her throat, and he immediately backs off.

Once her entire body has been washed free of dirt and blood, he decides that she'll just have to suck it up. He reaches for her neck and keeps going even when she growls at him. Despite her warning, she doesn't attack when he touches the patchy fur and instead begins whining. He tries to ignore it and works as quickly as he can. When he's finally done, he slowly lifts her from the bath and places her on the mat.

Her legs have gathered a little strength, and she can stand a little bit, albeit very wobbly and unsteady. Jason turns to grab a towel, and right when his back is turned, her instincts must kick in, because she shakes out her fur as violently as she is able, coating the walls and Jason with water. His jaw clenches and he takes a deep breath, turning abruptly.

Her tongue is lolling out of her mouth and he swears if she was human she'd be grinning up at him. He shakes his head, fighting his own smile despite his now soaking bathroom. When he reaches out to dry her off, she backs away, and her back legs give out.

The sudden fear in her eyes makes him even angrier but he tries not to show it for fear of frightening her even further. He moves much slower as he tries to dry her dripping fur and eventually she seems to trust him because she allows him to do without any more protest. She does shift with discomfort when he gets to her neck, and he assumes that it's just irritation from the collar because there are no abrasions on her skin.

"So, do you have a name?" he asks her, wrapping her in the towel (after making sure she would not attack him for it), and lifting her into his arms. After spending the last hour or so in his arms, she seems to have gotten used to his touch, despite her initial distrust.

"That shithole had you labeled as 2-L-E," he starts, but when her ears perk up and she turns her head to look at him, he pauses. "So that's your name."

That won't do.

"Okay, well, I can't call you that," he grumbles, placing the dog on the biggest pillow on his couch. She curls into herself immediately and watches him putter around the living room. He shoves his gear onto an armchair and heads for the kitchen. "What about if I just call you Ellie, because, you know, L and E, L-E, Ellie?" he says loudly as he scrounges for some food that the dog can eat.

He comes up with some chicken that he doesn't remember buying because he doesn't just have dog food lying around. He files that away with the others things that he now has to do. Other things on that list include making sure Ellie is trained not to take a shit on his floor, finding out where the closest pet store is, and avoiding Bruce and Co. for as long as humanly possible. He knows they'll come knocking soon considering he lefts notes and removed something from the crime scene, something big, but he just hopes they'll hold out long enough for him to get settled.

After cooking the chicken, letting it cool, messily cutting it up, and shoving it in a random bowl lying on his counter, Jason goes back to the living room to find Ellie still lying where he left her, her head now stretched up far enough to watch him as he enters. Her pale blue eyes are still sad and drooping, but she looks much happier here than she did when she was still chained up inside that cage.

"Please tell me you like this," he mumbles, placing the bowl on the couch cushion beside her head.

Her eyes follow his hand and then she spends a good few moments staring at the bowl. Eventually she stretches her neck further to nudge the food with her nose, before tentatively taking a piece. It takes her a while to get it down, but once she does, she seems to snap out of her suspicious stupor and practically inhales the rest. When she's finished, she looks back to Jason, who had sat down to keep an eye on her, with wide, pleading eyes.

He stares at her for a moment before catching on and standing. "Nope, sorry. Willing to bet those fuckers didn't feed you that much and I don't want you losing your guts on my floor, so that's it for now."

Ellie huffs out a sigh and curls into herself, closing her eyes.

Jason isn't too far after her.

\--

" _Jason, what the fuck, ah!_ " is the first thing Jason hears when he wakes up.

He thrashes for a brief moment before leaping to his feet and grabbing the gun he keeps taped to the bottom of the coffee table. When his vision clears and he sees Ellie backing Dick into a corner, he lowers the gun and drags a hand down his face.

"Ellie!" he calls out, and the dog immediately freezes and plants her butt on the floor. She looks over her shoulder at Jason, her teeth still bared. "Stand down! Jesus..."

Despite him only having her for a matter of hours, she listens to him. He figures she must have been trained in that warehouse.

"What is that thing?" Dick asks, an almost hysterical tone causing his voice to raise a few octaves.  

Jason puts the gun back and places his hands on his hips, glaring down at Dick.

" _She_ is not a _thing_ , she is a dog, and her name is Ellie," he says, almost angrily. "Now calm the fuck down before I kick your ass to the curb. What do you want?"

Dick runs a hand through his hair and crosses his arms, moving away from the corner he'd been backed into.

"I've called you, like, ten times, and when you didn't pick up I decided to come here," he explains, and when Jason's unimpressed expression remains, he continues, "you were at that warehouse, Jay. Bruce and I got there too late to see anything go down, but you were there. What the hell happened? I know you didn't kill all of those people."

Jason collapses back into the arm chair where he'd previously been sleeping, sighing. He twists his neck to work out the cramps and then leans his head back to stare at the ceiling. He figured he only had limited time before somebody showed up. He's silently grateful that it's Dick because Bruce would no doubt rip Ellie away from him. At least Dick is a tiny bit more rational and forgiving.

"I've known something was off about that place for a while. I'd been scouting it out when it all just went to shit one day," he admits, bringing his head forward to see Ellie resting her chin on his knee. He absently reaches out to bury his fingers in the fur at the base of her skull. "The people hiding out in there all came out one day, and when I went inside, some invisible _thing_ was tearing the rest of 'em to shreds. You're right, I didn't kill any of them, that thing at the front did. Didn’t you read the notes I left?”

Dick takes a seat on the couch where Ellie had been sleeping and watches the two intently. “Yeah, we did, but you gave us next to nothing. Not to mention, you removed something from the scene.” He raises an eyebrow and gestures to the large dog.

Jason shrugs noncommittally. “Maybe I did. I don’t think you’re going to be doing anything about it, though.”

He’s right. Dick has to hold back from cooing over the sight of Jason and the dog. Whatever intention he had of recovering the evidence has been demolished at this point.

“No, I won’t. But you could tell me what you know besides what you already said,” Dick reasons, throwing his feet up on the coffee table. Normally, Jason would tell him to knock it off, considering that table is on its last legs, but he’s too focused watching Ellie’s face relax for the first time since he brought her back.

Jason goes to speak but is cut off when Ellie suddenly jumps into his lap. The breath is shoved from his lungs with a grunt as the large dog settles over his thighs and stomach. She rests her head on his shoulder and sighs happily.

“She’s so cute,” Dick whispers, his eyes wide with awe, but when Jason clears his throat, he straightens up again. “Right.”

“Anyway,” he says, “from what I can tell, they were trying to create the ultimate killing machine.” He narrows his eyes when Dick’s lips quirk. “I’m not kidding, jackass. That thing that I left behind killed every single one of those scientists and only went down with whatever failsafe they had in place.”

Dick crosses his arms again and nods, suddenly serious once more.

“That makes sense. What about the woman, you said she was the head of it all?”

Jason hums in confirmation. “Yeah. At least, that’s what it sounded like. I didn’t get a chance to poke around their files, but she was the last one standing before she shot herself. And she referred to the work as all hers.”

Dick lets that sink in for a moment, before switching the subject once more. “So what about Ellie?”

“What about her?”

“What is she? I mean… she looks like a dog, but… not?” he elaborates, and Jason shrugs again.

“Genetic modification, I think. I’m leaning towards the idea that she was a prototype that they weren't satisfied with because she can’t do nearly anything that other thing could.”

“What could the other thing do?”

Jason chuckles. “Well, for starters, it was fucking invisible. And unless I’m hallucinating and you’re just humoring me, Ellie isn’t invisible. It was also massive, and even though Ellie is heavy as fuck and a little bigger than usual, she’s not so unusual that it’s unnatural. The only differences I can really find is her size and she’s got wicked claws.”

Dick is silent for a moment before he smiles slightly. “So I guess she’s of no use to the case. No reason to tell B she’s even here.”

“I guess not,” Jason agrees, the _thank you_ going unsaid but understood. “Now get out before I sic my brand new guard dog on you.”

And even as he tries to be serious, his own smiles just barely shines through.

\--

Having Ellie around turns out to be even greater than Jason thought. The decision to bring her home had been an impulse reaction; he hadn’t really thought about it. He was just going to bring her home and clean her up and nurse her back to health, but he didn’t really think about what he was going to do after that.

He doesn’t realize that he’s gotten attached until one day she disappears from his apartment. He’s gone to the corner store to pick up some cheap beer and food for her and when he comes back, the door is wide open. He drops his stuff on the counter and frantically checks every room, only becoming more and more nervous when she doesn’t come running as he calls her name.

He’s only had her for two weeks, and he’s found that she’s incredibly well trained. He doesn’t like to think about she was trained and what they did to her, but he can ignorantly appreciate her skills and loyalty.

“Of course, she’s gone,” he mumbles to himself, trying not to get upset. He feels foolish, being so sad about this, but she was actually his best friend for the time being.

After Dick left that night two weeks ago, he hasn’t had any contact with anyone. He’s avoided any bats and birds while on patrol (which he’s actually cut down on because Ellie would get nervous if he was gone for too long) and he hasn’t seen anyone he can count as a friend, either.

He’s spoken to the old man at the corner store because he’s been there pretty often to pick up dog food, and the single mother upstairs who needs help bringing up her groceries but feels bad asking.

“Ellie!” he calls one last time, just to make sure she’s not there. Distant panic flutters deep in his chest, and he grabs his guns, strapping them on.

It’s just past eight o’clock, which means scouring the alleyways and side streets around his apartment is probably not the safest way to go. He could protect himself fine as just regular old Jason Todd without any weapons because he _is_ a weapon, but criminals and petty thieves are more likely to stay away or clear a path if he goes out as Red Hood.

He slides out through his window and scales down the fire escape as fast as possible, straining to listen to the sound of the city. He can’t hear any barking, but the further he gets from his apartment, the closer he gets to the sound of yelling and growling.

Jason skids to a stop at the edge of a building and stares down into the alley. His heart jumps when his eyes fall on a large dog in the middle of a group of women. Three women on one side of her, one teenage boy on the other side.

He drops into the alley without a second thought and simply stands there beside Ellie with his arms crossed.

At first, he thinks the women may have some common sense because two of them bolt immediately, but the third isn’t so smart. She pulls a gun on him and doesn’t even give him the chance to move before she pulls the trigger. And before Jason can duck out of the way and completely miss the bullet, Ellie is leaping between them, taking the bullet instead.

She yelps, and hits the ground, but Jason prioritizes and lunges for the woman, who seems to finally have realized her mistake. He snatches the gun from her and pistol whips her, sending her to the ground.

“I wanna kill you, I really do, but I’m not going to,” he hisses, before adding on, “ _yet._ Because if you just killed my dog, I’m going to hunt you down, I’m going to kill you, and then I’m going to bring you back to life so I can do it again, just for the hell of it.”

The woman’s eyes are wide with terror and when Jason gives her the space to do so, bolts from the alleyway.

The boy they’d had cornered is gone by now, and even if he wasn’t, Jason is too concerned for Ellie to even notice. He drops to his knees beside her curled form and flips her over, his heart thudding against his ribs painfully.

“Come on,” he mumbles anxiously, gnawing on his bottom lip.

He expects to find a bloody mess of fur and sand from the ground, but instead, he finds a bit of scorched fur and nothing much else. On the ground is a crushed bullet, though. It’s completely flattened.

And it doesn’t take Jason long to connect the dots.

His dog is fucking _bulletproof._ At least, if the demolished bullet and bloodless fur is anything to go by.

“Alright, let’s go, you little shit,” he grumbles, torn between annoyed that she ran away at all and relieved that she isn’t now a lifeless corpse in his arms.

He gathers her up and brings her back to his apartment, his heart still thudding the whole way.

A bulletproof dog. Well, who would’ve thought?

\--

And as it turns out, having Ellie around is useful in more ways than one. Sure, he can whistle and point to something and she’ll bring it to him because he’s a lazy sack of shit sometimes, and she’ll provide extra warmth because his heat is broken, but that’s not all she’ll do.

She will sit with him when he goes into one of his hazes where he doesn’t quite know what to do with himself, and can’t even gather the energy to stand up.

She will bark and prod at him if he hasn’t eaten anything in over a day. She’ll even bring the food _to_ him if he still refuses to do anything.

She will bring the leash to him and sit there until he clips it to her collar and they walk through the dark alleys. It’s cold and filthy but it’s home, and it’s grounding, and it makes him feel better.

She will drag the first aid kit to the couch on days that he comes back more beat up than usual, and she will sit by his side until he patches himself up, because sometimes, if she doesn’t, he won’t do anything about the wounds at all.

She will sleep on the empty side of his bed and be there when he starts to shift, and then start to thrash, and sometimes, start to scream. She will prod him until he wakes up and allows him to hug her as tight as he wants until he calms down, because she’s tough as nails, and he couldn’t hurt her even if he wanted to.

She will sit beside him as he eats his dinner because she knows he gets lonely, and she will make sure he doesn’t get too sad.

She will break the silence when it gets too heavy and start whining and barking until he takes out one of her toys and plays with her.

And sometimes, when he finds himself seeing things that really aren’t there and hearing things that are not truly happening, she will be there to pull him out of it. She will grab onto his hand and somehow manage to not break skin, even though her teeth are dangerously sharp.

She’s only been in his life for a month, and she is the best thing to ever happen to him because she is _helping_ him.

Jason finds that he doesn’t fall into depressions at three in the morning as much anymore, and he doesn’t wake up from nightmares and throw up because he just feels so awful as much anymore, and he doesn’t forget to eat as much anymore, and he feels more _human._

Not to mention, she's been helping out on patrol more and more. Once he discovered that she was invulnerable when it came to knives and guns, he decided that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to have a side kick. Besides, a side kick who barks is a lot better than a side kick that talks (and scowls). 

And it goes this way for a month and a half until Bruce finally shows up.

The man doesn't expect to be let in, but he goes anyway. He'd spoken to Dick about the information that Jason provided but had decided that maybe it would be best if he stayed away for a while.

But now it's been  _a while_ and he wants to talk to his son. 

But right as he goes to knock on the door, growling erupts from behind it. His hand freezes in midair and his muscles tense, but he doesn't move. He listens.

Footsteps and an exasperated sigh sound from the other side of the door and Jason's voice rings out.

"Alright, alright, stand down, I got it," he grumbles, and the growling immediately stops. Several locks are released, and then the door swings open, and there's Jason, tall frame and bright eyes and all. "Oh. B. What do you want?"

It almost shocks Bruce how he says the question. There's no venom, no contempt, no annoyance. It's just a simple question.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," Bruce replies, but Jason merely smirks in response.

"Okay, old man," he says, "I know you wanna see what I took. Knock yourself out." He turns and walks back into the apartment, leaving the door open behind him.

It leaves him with ample opportunity to stare at the massive dog trailing behind Jason, its tail held high and wagging excitedly and its giant paws making almost no sound on the tiles.

Bruce clears his throat and steps inside, closing the door behind him. He follows Jason inside, and they end up in the living room. The state of his apartment also shocks him, but his face remains blank as he glances around.

It's actually  _clean._ He's only been here a few times before, and it was always bare and dirty. Now, there are more lights, the floor isn't covered with dried blood and dirt, the couch has been replaced with a slightly less threadbare version, and dozens of books are littering shelves and windowsills. Dog toys are left here and there and a bed that doesn't really look all that worn in sits against the wall beside the couch. 

Jason slumps onto the couch and the dog immediately jumps up, too, sitting patiently beside him. The dog and Jason watch him carefully, a little far from trusting but not suspiciously.

"I didn't know you got a dog," Bruce says because he doesn't know what else to say. "Is that what you removed from the scene?"

Jason shrugs, lifting his arm to drape it across the dog's broad and sharp shoulders. He scratches beneath its ear and its eyes droop a little bit.

"I didn't really think anyone would mind. She probably would've died if I didn't take her out of there," he replies, a ghost of a smile on his face. "Her name's Ellie."

The dog's ears perk slightly at the sound of her name, and Bruce watches their interaction with interest. It dawns on him that maybe this new state of being is because of her.

"Dick mentioned enhancements," he adds, finally easing into an armchair that looks well worn. 

Jason snorts. "Yeah, but nothing like what you saw. She's just tough as nails. Razor sharp teeth, larger than normal, and bulletproof." He pauses, lifting his other hand to poke her in the side, but she doesn't even move a little to show that he'd done it. "Oh, and don't forget the freakishly incredible senses."

And that would explain how she knew he was on the other side of the door.

After a moment of careful consideration, he decides to let the dog topic drop, because he didn't come here to take her away. He had no reason to. They'd solved the case two weeks ago.

So instead, he asks, "how are you, Jason? Really?"

The younger man looks a little surprised to hear the question, but he sighs. 

"Honestly? Not amazing," he admits, but the corner of his mouth lifts slightly as he gazes at the dog beside him. "But I'm... better."

And, thanks to Ellie, that's ten times better than Bruce could have ever hoped. 

**Author's Note:**

> gonna be honest, not sure i'm content with that ending, but i think it's okay, for now. i've been working on this for around a month now, and it's not really long enough to show that, but i just needed to let it stew in the back of my mind in order for it to work out the way i wanted it to.


End file.
